Condom Broke with CSW

[Bw0929]

Doc:
10 days ago,I had sex with an asian massage palor girl in New York.  I have done this about 4 times over the past year and used a condom each time.  I also tested negative in April this year and had 2 encounters since then with the most recent 10 days ago.  This last time, however, the condom broke and I was exposed for about 5 - 10 seconds.  One I realized what happened, I pulled out and she put another condom on me and I finished.  After removing the condom, she sprayed alcohol on my penis and groin area.  At this point, it finally sunk in what had happened and I asked her if she was negative.  She told me that she gets tested every 1 to 3 months and that she is fine - she said "trust me, no need to worry".  I should also add that I do have herpes, but outbreaks are very rare.  I did check my penis afterwards and everything looked fine.  I am very worried and since this happened, all I can think about is getting HIV.  

What is your assessment of this situation?  

Thanks for your advice!!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

You now know that you did not get HIV from the exposure you describe.  Your partner is negative and you cannot get HIV from an un-infected partner.  There is no reason to even think that she might have been seroconverting and had HIV but a negative blood test.  Time for you to forget abou this and move forward with your life.  EWH

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Yes, anxiety can cause things that are not normally noticed to be noticed and normal sensations to seem abnormal.  EWH

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Sorry to hear of your mishap. Please don't let that keep you from continuing to do the good job of practicing safe sex as you have been.  For a number of reasons which I have listed below, your risk of infection is very, very low.  I hope that my comments can give you some peace.  Here are the facts behind my confidence that you will be OK:

1.  She told you she was not infected.  Most people tell the truth.
2.  Your unprotected exposure was brief and even that was in large part protected by the remaining condom.
3. Even if you were totally unprotected and she was infected with HIV, your risk of acquiring HIV from a single exposure is less than in 1000 exposures.  For you the risk would be lower due to the brevity of your exposure and the presence of partial protection

Having said all of this, I realize you are still likely to be anxious.  Get tested at either 4 or 6 weeks after the event when either 85-90% or greater than 95%, respectively, of  persons who have become infected will have positive tests.  When you get a negative result, that, combined with your low probability of infection even before you were tested will be proof that you did not get infected.  In the interim, should you get a cold or other minor symptoms, ignore them.  Symptoms really mean nothing when trying to determine the probability of having gotten HIV.  Hope this helps.  EWH

[Bw0929]

Doc,
I forgot to mention one thing in my post - the condom broke in the middle but when I pulled out, I noticed that the condom was completely covering the urethra like Saran wrap.  It appears I was exposed below the tip.

[Bw0929]

Thanks for your comments.  Since I convinced her to get tested, I can finally get a good nights sleep.  Although I'm still recovering from what appears to be seasonal allergies in combination with a cold.  

She was really cool about going with me to get tested and was glad to know there is a place she can get tested for free.  She told me she was paying $100 at a doctors office to get tested.  

After this incident, I've decided to give up on CSW's as the risk and anxiety are just not worth it.  I learned a lesson with this ordeal and I'm thankful for the support and advice I got from the people on this site.  

[Bigtin]

You should be satisfied now you convinced the girl you had sex with to go for a test with you. I've done this in the past and I know its never an easy thing to ask. Its not often discussed on this forum as an option in relation to CSW's possibly because CSW's dont like to be harassed same as the rest of us. But if you approach it sensitively and explain your concerns, usually people wont leave you worrying as you were. She has done you a big favour, she could have said no.

Congratulations on putting this one to rest in a proactive manner. You are negative.

[Bw0929]

Doc,
The waiting and anxiety was taking it's toll on me, so today we both got tested (me and the girl I had sex with) and the results' are negative.  This is about 3 weeks from the mishap.  The New York DOH provides free testing.  They give you the results of the rapid test in about 45 minutes and then in 2 weeks they give you the results of a PCR test.  At 2 weeks, I got tested and should have the results of that PCR in 9 days.  

Considering that we both tested negative at the 3 week mark, can I put this to bed?  I won't bother you with anymore questions - I promise.  You've been VERY helpful!

[Bw0929]

Doc,
I know that you told me to ignore symptoms, however, I now have a sore throat that began 2 weeks after the incident.  I'm trying to tell myself that these symptoms are anxiety related and are nothing to worry about but not having much success.  I do not have swollen lymph glands or fever.  I did get tested at the two week mark and was negative.  I also got tested for other STD's and they too came back negative except HSV which I am still waiting for results - seems to take longer for this test.  I plan to get tested again at the 5 - 6 weeks mark as you recommended.  Can anxiety cause these symptoms I'm experiencing?

Thanks for your advice!

[Bw0929]

Thanks Doc....I really appreciate your comments.